The stories in this volume bring fresh and new tales to the printed page. The authors in this volume are not yet well-known. They are emerging authors. However, with such delightful and engaging writing, they are unlikely to remain unknown for long. It is my pleasure to present these tale-spinners and wordsmiths to our readers.The title story, Diane M. Davis'¬"s hilarious '¬SMixed Blessings,'¬ made our editors laugh out when they first read it. Joseph O'¬"Neil'¬"s brief tale, '¬SThe Fight,'¬ has an old fashion moral to it'¬ ;but it'¬"s a morality story with a deeply ironic twist.
Bill Freas displays an enviable grasp of the classic horror/suspense genre, but '¬SIt Waits Among Us'¬ sports a more rounded heroic figure than the genre typically allows. Linell Jeppsen'¬"s '¬SGag Gift'¬ throws miscellaneous straws into the literary air seemingly at random until they fall miraculously into place to form a complex, multi-faceted story about memory, sadness and loss. John McMahon'¬"s '¬SSeven Layers of Skin'¬ delves into the psyche of a troubled and troubling young man who peels away the layers of his memory like a caged monkey working on a fresh onion. After McMahon'¬"s morose tale, many readers will find Lisa Dunn'¬"s pithy story about a young lady'¬"s façade both refreshing and oddly sorrowful in its own way. '¬SThe Kind of Woman in a Red Coat'¬ is equal part comedy and social commentary. The post-apocalyptic space of F I Shehadi'¬"s '¬SThey Came'¬ provides an inspirational alternative to the apocalyptic gore and mayhem of much religious fiction. The four horsemen of the apocalypse were never as welcome as they are when they gallop from Shehadi'¬"s pen. Charles Howell, a man with significant Japanese intellectual influences behind his pen, gives a demon'¬"s eye view of human hubris in '¬SThe Deserving Soul.
'¬ Laura L. Mays Hoopes'¬" '¬SThings to do to Softball Players, Then and Now'¬ provides an emphatic look into the private agony of every soul who has suffered the ritualized indignity of being picked dead last every time for their elementary school'¬"s team sports. Finally, Phyllis Thomas closes the volume with a harrowing fantasy about the nature of the divine in '¬SI Prefer to Call it Devious.'¬ It is with the profoundest joy that I offer these stories to you for the entertainment and engagement of your mind. As with all of Phyllis Scott'¬"s publications, each of the contributors in this volume has won a highly competitive writing contest sponsored by Phyllis Scott Enterprises. Phyllis Scott, editor.